Was in the mood for Mexican food; Fortaleza was on the way down to the next appointment. So far everything I've had there was very good. Today's chile relleño just melted in my mouth. The sauce wasn't too piquant, a balanced flavor that complimented the chili. Fortaleza provides a basket of corn tortillas. That''s akin to Italian bread on the table in an Italian restaurant. It's a nice touch. Prices are reasonable and portions of large. They have an app you can download, there's also a QR code for customer loyalty points. To describe the ambience, would take a book length review. I don't think there is a spot that isn't decorated with some sort of image. They have some merchandise for purchase to the right of the front door as you exit. They do catering, special occasions, and delivery. read more

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Came to Poughkeepsie NY for a wedding and the day before we were looking to lunch in the area. Being from NJ, we are familiar with La Fortaleza and this location in Poughkeepsie is relatively new. Because of our great knowledge of and experience with the Fortalezas in our area - we had to go and stop by this location! This location was geand and covered in beautiful Mexican inspired artwork and inspiration. There was a foozeball table and didn't place for a photo op like the wooden chair swing with the big bear and the phone booth with the neon sign "I didn't call you, tequila did". The thing I love about La Fortalezas is the commitment to the heritage, the culture and the authenticity of the community. The food and drink are always delicious, spot on and features an array of choices and price points. My cousin and I enjoyed their $5 margarita deal - getting flavored margs for an additional buck. I mean you can beat it! To eat, my cousin, fiend and myself all enjoyed the steak tacos and between that, the chips and dip and our drinks we are all stuffed and satisfied. Thank you so much to La Fortaleza - Poughkeepsie for a delicious lively lunch!! read more

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It's been a while since We were here last. I'll look at the menu and decide what I want. I looked at the menu and seafood opened my eyes, I chose the salmon and changed my mind to the red snapper. I requested no rice instead salad. My dish came with a salad lettuce and mango, unfortunately I did care for the taste of the salad. My red snapper was delicious. Our server was very nice. read more

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Absolutely delicious! The service was great. bright, vibrant atmosphere. We. Had a lot of fun here I'm very impressed by all the decorations. The music is inviting and sticks with the Mexican culture. The food honesty my family and I enjoyed it so much read more

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Wholly overstimulation Batman.. this might be one of the craziest restaurants I have ever eaten at. This restaurant's ambience can best be described as a neon Senor Frogs (Anyone in their 20s who's been on a cruise knows what i'm talking about). This is a great place to go with the kids, that want to have a loud and fun time. Not a place i would take a date. I thought the price of the food was very reasonable and the portions were huge. I don't remember the name of what i got, but it was essentially a giant tower of marinated pork and pineapple. You could fee two to three people with this tower. We had fun, and hopefully you get to experience someone in the restaurant having a birthday.... it's pretty wild. read more

La Fortaleza - Tower of Pork (I don't remember the exact name of it) - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

I sat at the bar to have lunch. Barely got a greeting from the server. Server never came to ask if everything was ok as they should. Had to hunt down another employee for my check. They added 20% tip. I questioned the server he said when you sit at the bar we add the tip! I said that's ridiculous and plus 20%? For crappy service! My check was $20.50 I gave him $21.00 cash he said have a good day. I said I get change he said you want change? I said I sure do. Food was bland, terrible service! I'll never go back. read more

Ambience was great! Lots of photo ops, the vibe was good. After 8pm, the music gets louder. Waitress was nice. Drinks were a bit pricey but tasted good. Not a place I would go to all the time but maybe just special occasions. If you tell them there's a birthday in your party, beware of the $15 you will get charged and not be told about. They bring you a sliver of flan. You don't even get to pick your dessert for $15. You know those chips and salsa they bring to your table. Well enjoy the lil basket and one person dipping salsa. Don't ask for more unless you want to pay for it. Something they don't even tell you, they just add it to your bill. Food: we ordered a bunch of apps. My friends had the street corn which they enjoyed. The wings tasted good. Just think of Wingdings with dipping sauce. The fluatas were stuffed with chicken and Mexican cheese. The chicken was dry. Would skip that. The app tacos were a bit better. The ceviche didn't have that zest lime taste but still tasted good. More like shrimp onions and tomatoes they give you a flat round tortilla with slices of avocado you can put on top. Go over your bill because we had an extra charge of something we never got. They put a service charge automatically. This is the tip, I asked the waitress to make sure. We were a party of 4 and it was added. Overall it was about the vibe so we had a nice time. read more

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Arrived there about 2:10 pm. There were people at only 2 tables, music blaring so loudly that everyone was shouting. Asked the waiter if he could lower it a bit and he grudgingly said maybe and tried to take our order, but when he had trouble hearing us he decided to lower it to a less painful volume. We shared nachos and a couple of beers -- the steak on the nachos was incredibly grisly, not great at all, but we just ate what we could and enjoyed our drinks. When he brought the bill I was surprised, painted right on our table "happy hour mon-fri 2-6." Asked the waiter and he said no -- they changed it, happy hour is now 3-7. Terrible food, terrible service, and definitely not happy hour! read more

La Fortaleza - This is our table "happy hour Monday-Thursday 2-6" - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

I really enjoyed my food and drink at this location. I am definitely keeping this restaurant in rotstiin. Only downer is that they didn't have frozen margaritas and they're a bit over priced. read more

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I'd heard mixed reviews about this spot, so naturally I had to check it out myself -- and wow, it did not disappoint! This restaurant is basically my personality: loud, colorful, and bursting with energy. From the moment I walked in, they had me hooked. The food? Delicious. The drinks? Even better. The service? On point. Honestly, it felt like stepping right into the movie Coco -- vibrant, fun, and full of life. I had an amazing time and can't wait to go back! read more

La Fortaleza - Street corn - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

Food was delicious!! Ate here for my birthday dinner, which is Valentine's Day, so it's always a busy night. We had a great waiter. They do a birthday song which is pretty fun, my favorite embarrassing birthday dinner I've had so far. The decor is vibrant and there's a lot of cool spots to take pictures. read more

La Fortaleza - La Milanesa sandwich - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

Great food! Good drink! Great service! Great atmosphere! First time I bought something from the gift shop. read more

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Great Place!! Want to go to Cabo but the time isn't right? Then this is the place for you!!! In town visiting and stopped in and 10/10 recommend stopping here! This is Mexico in NY! Who knew you'd have to travel from CO to find such a great MX spot?!!!?! The lights, decorations, seating, menu presentation is ALL fantastic and really had thought put into it! Food has AMAZING flavor! You like hot? Get the ceviche! The unique take on the El Ambres was very impressive with the finish of queso fundido. We really enjoyed our server but we think he forgot to enter one entree so my husband was waiting on his plate for a good 10-15 minutes after everyone else received their food. Which was disappointing but wasn't noticed too much with the fun music/lights/vibe Looking for a place to celebrate? This is it! Looking for a more intimate place? This is it! Such a large restaurant, if you want to be in the party mix you can! If you want a more intimate spot with great vibes, this is it! I will definitely be back and recommend to all! read more

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My gfs and I went for dinner after some shopping. This place is a vibe! Everything is painted in bright colors and there are black lights. The furniture is colorful and there is a ton of art. The menu is on iPads so I assume it is updated easily. The food was good. The flavor wasn't something I need to come running back to but if I'm in Poughkeepsie I now know there is a decent place for Mexican food. The server was kind and attentive. My drink tasted like juice. There wasn't much alcohol in it, which did not help since it was $15. read more

La Fortaleza - Enmoladas - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

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First time here & I would definitely go back. It was lunch time so it wasn't too busy. There are plenty of tables to seat guests as well as a big bar. So colorful & so much cool decor & great places for photos. The margaritas are so GOOD!I enjoyed my meal as well. A few lunch specials to choose from until 2pm Monday-Friday as well as some happy hour specials also. The menu is on ipads,which is cool & different. The waitress was very attentive as well. read more

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Warning - The restaurant is a sensory overload, so if you have issues with audio/visual over stimulation, I would stay away. It's bright and loud. Someone else said it, this place is not for everyone. There's a souvenir stand and they will try to sell you your photo in a souvenir frame, or upsell your drink to a souvenir mug. On the (neon) bright side, if you're looking for a party spot with good drinks, that's also instagram worthy, this is your spot. There's so much to take in, I don't think I processed it all during my visit. But there's literally a ton of different things to photograph, and it's a fun vibe. If I was looking for a party vibe to get drinks, this would be it. For lunch service, the flashing screens, very loud music, and singing waiter were very distracting. I felt like I was losing my voice trying to have a conversation with the people around me. There was only one other table when I went but besides the drinks, the service was extremely slow. The elote was so bland, I questioned if I was even eating corn. The presentation was top notch - it came served standing up on a board, themed like the Mexican flag, with a flag sticking out of it, with slices of lime and a container of chili powder on the side. We had to forcefully pry the skewer off the board, then season the elote ourselves. It was such a let down - I didn't taste much mayo sauce, it was super dry and confusing. The corn itself was cold and unpleasant. My mole poblano was also a huge disappointment. The dish had an overpowering taste of poblano, and absolutely nothing else. I couldn't taste any depth or any hint of the savory flavors I'm used to with other versions of mole sauce I've had. The chicken was a overcooked and did not come off the bone without a lot of prying with a knife. Honestly, I love extremely spicy foods, but this had no actual flavor to it (and no warning about the spice level). I feel like any other person would have suffered from the spiciness. It was so bad that I only took one bite and asked for a container to pack it to go. The server and manager never asked me why I barely touched my plate, if anything was wrong, etc. This is the only establishment in Hudson Valley that I have been to the last 5+ years that has given me a really hard time about splitting a check three ways. We had more than three people, but we requested to split it three ways evenly for those of use who didn't have cash. The server made a fuss about how it's too late, we should have told him before he put the orders in, etc. It wasn't worth arguing over, but this says a lot about their customer service. The lunch special is super cheap, but the food was truly not worth it for me. The drinks are good but that isn't enough to make me want to put myself through this again. read more

Stopped in for lunch randomly and thought the food was very good! Service was quick and easy. The decor is amazing! The whole place is lit up in different ways with color and decorative things. It was my favorite part of the experience. A BIT expensive in all honesty. Worth it but still a bit higher than most places I've been. They did have lunch specials also. Would be a fun place for photo ops! read more

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This place has been on my To Try list for a few months now. I wanted to love it, but it was more of a dive with dreams for more. When we arrived we were greeted by a lively and vibrant room. The walls are busy and have a lot to look at. We were seated in the bar area, just as lively as the main dining room. The restaurant was quiet until it was announced to be someone's birthday. We ordered a margarita on the rocks with salt. My husband also wanted to try a tequila they had on the menu so we each ordered a straight shot. I ordered my current favorite meal chile rellano no rice and just refried beans. My husband snacked on the chips and salsa I tried the salsas. The red had an immediate kick to it, while the green had a kick at the end. My chile rellano was okay. It seemed like it wasn't cooked long enough to cook the cheese. The cheese was warm but it seemed like it could have been warmer. Also the red chili sauce on top with the shredded cheese took away from the dish rather than added to it. My husband ordered a steak with peppers and onions. It smelled really good and he enjoyed it. read more

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This place is definitely an experience...it's just not for everyone. We picked this place to meet up with family last Thursday evening for dinner. They were traveling from out of town and we thought it would be a fun time for the little ones. They had a ball! As mentioned in previous reviews, this place is head-to-toe decorated. It's vibrant, exciting, and you just know you're in for a great time. The food is wonderful. One of the best margaritas I've ever had, hands down. The one thing that I want to call out is that the restaurant uses strobe lights and loud music. One in our party suffers from visual sensitivities and we unfortunately didn't know that strobe lights were going to be an issue prior to dining here. The feedback about slow service is valid - but also understandable. Let's all cut this team a break because they are doing a great job! I'd definitely recommend it. read more

I won't be going again. The food was just ok. The decor is a little much with fluorescent paint everywhere. What I am really mad at is that after reading some of the reviews, (I didn't have my glasses with me) I realized that I had tipped on a 20% gratuity as well. I did the math for what we had ordered. One entree was $65, mine was $12, a large mango margarita, and a smaller special margarita. I gave a 20% tip and the bill was almost $170. Am I wrong? I don't have the bill in Fri t of me, but g ft or 2 people, that's a lot. We went on a Friday night at prime time it should've been packed and it wasn't and now I'm understanding why. I definitely would not recommend this place to anyone, it's bad business practice. There was no mention of a fixed gratuity, (for two people), had I known had I known prior to I wouldn't have gone. For me once.... read more

Ambience five stars Service five stars Food five stars The music got a little loud after eight overall great experience read more

This place is amazing? It's so pretty, and clean. It's very colorful, with a lot of glow in the dark pieces. The food was very good and fresh. The service was great, our waiter was knowledgeable and attentive. I would recommend this restaurant! read more

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Fish tacos 8/10 strawberry piña colada 9/10 service 9/10. Ambience was great. Menu on iPad very nice touch. Overall 8.5 rating read more

La Fortaleza - Fish tacos - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

So cool! I love taking my friends to this place and surprising them. Sylvia is our favorite waitress. The staff are very friendly and the food is amazing. read more

Dude! We had so much fun here. The food was great, drinks were great, atmosphere was exciting. Don't come here if you want chill conversation. Come here if you want a super fun night out with friends. They have a random photographer that comes and takes your pics- then later comes with it framed and offers it to you for $20. It was so weird that I bought it. Best item on the menu were the churros- omg. The only con I can think of was the service being super slow. Took 2 hours total to eat here. But we had fun the whole time so it made up for it. Update: went again today for a bachelorette party and had Sylvia! Another great experience. Thank you for an awesome night! read more

La Fortaleza - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

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The calamari and margaritas are amazing and the decor is the cherry on top. 10/10 would recommend read more

La Fortaleza - The calamari & margarita was amazing, and the decor is the cherry on top. 10/10 would recommend - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

Food was good but service.... wasn't the best. Our server Melani was unfriendly and not very attentive. A runner dropped our food and she never even came to see how everything was or if we needed anything until we were all finished eating. Went with 3 friends, we asked for separate checks but we're advised they do not do that. Check came our total was $198. Menu states that an 18% gratuity will be added to checks over $200. 20% gratuity was added to our check. When we asked, Melanie said they haven't updated the menus yet and walked away. She completely ignored about it being under $200. Also brought the check without even asking if we wanted dessert or more drinks. We had intended on ordering both. So we decided to skip dessert and go to thier bar for another drink. Only 2 of us ordered drinks at the bar. Bar tender rang us up together and would not split check. Again there was a 20% gratuity added to our check. Our bill was only $20. At least she was friendly, unlike our table server. read more

I normally would be giving a 4 or 5 star review of a La Fortaleza restaurant. I have been to almost all of them. We have been waiting since May 1, when they were originally supposed to open, to try this locations. It's new and the current grand opening date is supposed to be on Sunday, July 8th . If they don't get better staff and a bartender, they will not be open long in Poughkeepsie. We had to flag down our waitress to order and while we waited over 20 minutes for our drinks, the one live singer kept doing mic checks for the ENTIRE time. The waitress came back and said the beer was that was ordered by one person at our table was not available, so another was subbed. Finally when the rest of our drinks came, the shots were a different kind of tequila, not a word was asked if we wanted it or not, and all tequilas are not created equal. When this was brought up? We were told we could send it back. I was not wanting to wait ANOTHER 20 minutes for their drinks so we just kept them. We had to flag our waitress down for more water. The tables around us were also getting restless. This is hands down a staffing issue. The current staff is not equipped to handle the situation and they need to hire more people. I don't know how they will be able to fully open with no bartender. The manager and waitresses were trying to fulfill the bar orders. There were only 3 people waiting tables and it was not enough. Normally when you go to one of these restaurants, a person comes around and takes your photo. They try to upsell you a few photos with a nice frame. This evening the photographer skipped by our table on purpose a few times. When confronted after us being there for almost 2 hours, he said " he didn't like to interrupt people while they were dining". Funny how that's what he was doing with everyone else. He even waited for one table to get their drinks before he took their photos. He laughed behind one member of my parties back when she was walking away after talking to him. He then proceeded to stand and watch commercials on the giant screen instead of trying to rectify the situation. We again had to flag down our waitress to pay the bill as did many of the tables around us. Some didn't want to wait and ended up paying at the host stand. I really enjoy going to La Fortaleza restaurants, but I have a hard time seeing myself visiting the Poughkeepsie location again. read more

La Fortaleza - Strawberry margaritas with 1800 instead of the ordered patron - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

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Amazing Food and Great service. It was our first time here and we will definitely be back read more

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The assumption and the automatic inclusion of a 20% tip is outrageous!!! I enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere BUT to not tell me ahead of time and when asked I was told it was the policy of the owners, wow...when did the customer not decide the tip. Also the bartender just gave me the tablet and DID NOT mention the tip so I almost added more!!! This needs to stop!! read more

Food had no flavor Charged for water Found a piece of wood in my leftovers Music is loud Drink watered down read more

La Fortaleza - This is what was in my doggy bag with the food. - Salad Near Me - Poughkeepsie, New York

My girlfriends and I came here spontaneously and we were amazed how great the vibes are. Ivan was an awesome waiter to us and the food is absolutely delicious!!! Will be coming back for sure with my family. Everyone needs to visit here at least once it's so cute I can't i'm obsessed read more

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The horchata was amazing, definitely homemade with milk which is rare. The chips and salsa were just as amazing. Both salsas were packed with flavor. We ordered the birrea quesadilla which was again AMAZING. It was flavorful and a pretty good portion. Then we ordered the fried ice cream which to our surprise was a big portion, and it was also amazing. The service was great, and we got everything very quickly. The theme made us feel like we were really in Mexico. Definitely recommend coming here. We will be back read more

SO good! Amazing atmosphere & food!!! Great service and amazing drinks. Loved the ambiance and energy! read more

Went for dinner the other night. The dinners were very good, drinks were excellent and the portions were enormous. Our waiter was very cool as well. read more

Service was very slow, music was as loud as a dance club, appetizer---the cheese wasn't melted and refried beans were cold. Entrees were ok. If you're in that area and want Mexican food, go south on 9 maybe a mile and go to Margarita's, next to Kohl's. They're consistently excellent. read more

Took over an hour to get our two orders of tacos ended up taking it to go but service is not good

It has very good Mexican food and the setting is very pretty and original. However the music is very loud and a bass sound reverberates in the table and chairs. So its not conducive to enjoying the food and the setting. It's a pity and these things should be corrected so that it reaches its potential; if it does, it would be a five star. read more

Horrible service always demanding tip, we in last night after we were all done eating the bill came and we saw they automatically put a 20 percent tip when and when we asked why they said it's required I was going to tip and leave it on the table never coming again, Manager is also horrible read more

The food definitely deserves five stars. I got the Al pastor tower and my partner got the chimichanga. I got the mangonada margarita and my partner the blue sangria. Decor is amazing and Ivan the server is fantastic. My ONLY issue was that I got there at 8 pm, still relatively early for Saturday dinner when a dj started blaring super loud music. Now , I have no problem with that. However, there were several families with babies just trying to relax and I feel the DJ couldn't read the room. The dj would be an excellent touch around 10 pm when singles and those looking to party start coming out. Otherwise, everything was great. La comida definitivamente merece cinco estrellas. Yo pedí la torre de al pastor y mi pareja la chimichanga. Yo pedí la margarita mangonada y mi pareja la sangría azul. La decoración es increíble e Ivan el camarero es fantástico. Mi UNICO problema fue que llegué allí a las 8 pm, todavía relativamente temprano para la cena del sábado cuando un dj comenzó a sonar música super fuerte. No tengo ningún problema con eso. Sin embargo, había varias familias con bebés tratando de relajarse y siento que el DJ no podía leer la habitación. El dj sería un toque excelente alrededor de las 10 pm cuando los solteros y los que buscan fiesta empiezan a salir. Por lo demás, todo estuvo genial. read more